The Chia Seed Affects on the Rate of Development and Percentage of Hatchability in Drosophila melanogaster
Author : Chandana R, Chethan Kumar S, Afeefa Bhanu, Aneesa PV and Krishna MS
Abstract :
Drosophila melanogaster is a widely used model organism for studying embryonic development, where traits such as developmental rate and hatchability serve as important indicators of pre-adult fitness. Nutritional factors, particularly diet composition, can significantly impact these developmental outcomes. In this study, flies were reared on wheat cream agar (control) and chia seed treated (5g, 10g, or 15g of chia seeds) to investigate the effects of chia seed supplementation on rate of development and percentage of hatchability from larva to pupa and pupa to adult in D.melanogaster.
The group receiving 15g of chia seeds demonstrated the shortest developmental time from larva to pupa and from pupa to adult, followed by the 10g group. In contrast, the 5g chia seed supplementation group exhibited delayed development relative to the control. These results suggest that higher levels of chia seed supplementation may provide nutritional or physiological benefits that promote faster maturation, whereas lower concentrations may exert inhibitory effects.
Hatchability patterns mirrored the developmental trends. Larva-to-pupa survival rates increased with chia seed supplementation, reaching a maximum in the 15g group. Pupal-to-adult emergence was significantly highest in the 15g and 5g treatments, whereas the 10g group showed reduced emergence compared to the highest and lowest supplementation levels. Overall, these findings indicate that chia seed supplementation contains a great source of omega 3 fatty acids, fiber, protein and antioxidants. Particularly at higher concentration chia seed supplementation improves both rate of development and percentage of hatchability in D. melanogaster, likely through enhanced nutritional support affecting energy metabolism and developmental pathways.
Keywords :
Drosophila melanogaster, chia seed supplementation, development rate.
